Actors Whose Careers Were Never The Same After Refusing Nude Scenes

There's no denying that nude scenes aren't for everybody. Both viewers and actors alike may take issue with the idea for a plethora of reasons, all of which can be perfectly legitimate. Unfortunately, sometimes Hollywood pushes back too hard and those actors who refuse to strip down on camera can miss out on work because of it. Of course, this isn't always the case, and some actors are able to move on through the industry just fine without the potential for nude scenes at all.

On the positive side of things, "You" star Penn Badgley asked showrunner Sera Gamble for fewer sex scenes ahead of the show's fourth season, hoping to better honor the intimacy in his real-life marriage, and was granted his request. Similarly, Sarah Jessica Parker famously had a "no nudity" clause in her contract that kept her from having to show anything during "Sex and the City," which has continued into the sequel series "And Just Like That." But not everyone gets so lucky with understanding showrunners and directors.

Following are only some of the actors in Hollywood who have refused to do nude scenes (either altogether or for a time), and as a result, have changed the trajectory of their careers. Some simply missed out on meaty roles or future accolades, while others were typecast and kept from pursuing the projects they'd previously dreamed of. Hollywood can be a cutthroat business, so no wonder these stars refused to give in.

Having appeared in productions like "Magic Mike XXL," "American Horror Story: Coven," and 2013's "The Host," Raeden Greer was no stranger to the camera. But as it turns out, she had her limits. Having been cast as an exotic dancer in the very first season of "True Detective," Greer told director Cary Joji Fukunaga that she wouldn't go topless for a scene. According to Greer, Fukunaga tried to pressure her into it even after nudity had been taken off the table in prior discussions. The results ultimately led to her being fired.

"Cary said to me at that moment, 'Everybody on this show goes topless. All the women on the show go topless. Your character is a stripper, so you have to,'" Greer told The Brag in 2021. "It [was] going to be very tasteful, or it's just gonna be really insignificant in the background. I was like, 'Well, if it's so insignificant, why is he so insistent that I have to do this?' It was just on and on and on with no budging." Greer's role was ultimately taken over by a background actor on set, and she was abruptly removed from the production.

As a result, Greer hasn't done much in the interim. After a handful of movies that were released in 2015, the only other acting credits to her name are 2018's "Landing Up," an episode of "NCIS: New Orleans," and a role in the 2022 short film "Hellish," which she also wrote and produced.

When Jim Caviezel took on the role of Jesus Christ in the Mel Gibson-directed "The Passion of the Christ," it completely redefined his career. The Catholic actor took his faith incredibly seriously in the years following, which led him to some roles and not others. Caviezel took on parts in action shows like "Person of Interest," sports dramas like "When The Game Stands Tall," and other faith-based projects like "Paul, Apostle of Christ," but aside from his outspoken religious and political views, there's another reason why you don't see Caviezel too often on screen anymore.

"I have a hard time getting naked on film," the actor told People in 2002, just two years before playing Christ. "I don't believe in it. I don't think it's right. In my faith, I'm taught that abstinence is important." When shooting love scenes for movies like "Angel Eyes" with Jennifer Lopez and "The Count of Monte Cristo" with Dagmara Dominczyk, Caviezel reportedly took precautions (such as keeping his pants on and placing an object physically between them) to honor and respect his marriage. 

While there are clearly other factors as to why Caviezel's career looks different than maybe it could have, the "Sound of Freedom" star's stance on nudity and sex scenes has in part shaped his career, though he's likely not complaining. The projects he works on now are stories much closer to his heart.

If you know Mandy Moore, then most likely you know her from her romantic and family-friendly adventures such as "A Walk To Remember," "Tangled," and the hit NBC family drama "This Is Us." In the early 2000s, this girl-next-door was a staple of the genre, appearing in over a dozen films between 2002 and 2007 — and that's not to mention TV appearances and music videos (she's also a singer-songwriter if you didn't know). But for Moore, less wasn't always more, even if going topless may have pushed her career even further.

"I've turned down several roles where the producers or directors or writers wouldn't budge on that point," Moore told USA Today in 2007, explaining that her refusal to go nude cost her plenty of work in the past. "I'm not saying that it's wrong for someone else to do them, but I think there's a way to be feminine and sexy without posing half-naked." For Moore, it would have been impossible for her to divorce her on-screen work from her interactions with the average person on the street, and that was more than enough of a deterrent to exposing herself on camera.

Having been the official voice of the Disney princess Rapunzel since 2010, it's safe to say that Moore's career wasn't completely demolished as a result. Her stance may have kept her from certain roles that could have catapulted her career further, but she doesn't seem too bothered by that now.

Do you remember "Monster's Ball"? That's the drama about the corrections officer who gets involved with the widow of the man he helped execute. The film won Halle Berry an Oscar for best actress and, alongside "X-Men" and "Swordfish," really jumpstarted her career. But did you know that Angela Bassett was originally sought out for the role? It turns out that Bassett, who hadn't starred in a major movie role in a number of years, turned down the part of Leticia Musgrove for one reason: character.

"I wasn't going to be a prostitute on film," she told Newsweek in 2002. "I couldn't do that because it's such a stereotype about black women and sexuality." Bassett didn't go so far as to criticize Berry for tackling the role, but she did note that Meryl Streep won plenty of Academy Awards without sexually exploiting herself on camera. "Film is forever," the actress remarked, standing by her choice to turn "Monster's Ball," and possibly an Oscar, down.

It may have taken her an extra decade or two, but nowadays Bassett is doing just fine and is well-known for her roles as Athena on "9-1-1" and Queen Ramonda of the fictionalized Wakanda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Having played the latter on a number of occasions starting with 2018's "Black Panther," most recently in the 2022 sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," Bassett has proven that the long way around is sometimes the one with the best results. 

Before Julia Roberts took on the role of Vivian Ward in "Pretty Woman," there were plenty of other leading ladies up for the part. Michelle Pfeiffer was one of them, though she opted to pass. Today, we know Pfeiffer best for her work in "Hairspray," "One Fine Day," and superhero movies such as "Batman Returns" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp." But before all of that, despite having gone nude in a handful of movies before, Pfeiffer wasn't interested in "Pretty Woman." Nor did she want to do "Basic Instinct," a film with a particularly revealing moment for Sharon Stone, who ultimately took the part.

"I just couldn't do ['Basic Instinct'], because of the sexual parts, the nudity. My father was still alive. I'm kind of prudish," Pfeiffer explained in 2007 (via Contactmusic). "And honestly? I am not that uninhibited about my body. I'm modest." Pfeiffer later explained that there could be a plethora of reasons why she turned some of these roles down. "It's not necessarily because you don't want to do it," she reflected years later on the "Today" show (via People). "There's a conflict, you're committed to something else. Typically, it was something like that."

There's no denying that Pfeiffer has been relatively picky with the roles she chooses. Not all of that is likely due to her refusal to do nude scenes over the past few decades, but also because of her desire to focus on her family as well.